Tag Archives: Batman

Four Color Forum

Cursed Comics Cavalcade

I’ll admit it. I have something against superhero annuals. One-shots, FCBD special editions, back-up features that aren’t meant to be humorous, digital exclusives… All by and large crap, and I typically disregard them as such. Could be because I grew up in the 80’s and my formative years of four-color superheroics were filled with gawdawful annuals that usually had nothing to do with contemporaneous storylines; featured shitty art and even shittier writing (and attempted to make up for that fact with a gimmick, like a “first appearance” trading card of some hero or villain that never had a chance at making a second appearance); or worst yet, were part of some annual-only arc that forced me to buy overpriced issues of series I’d never cared about (“Citizen Kang” comes to mind).

But I love capes-and-tights comics and I do like short stories. Self-contained issues are fantastic when done well! And I really do want to see more sterling efforts from talented creators, especially if allowed to tackle premier characters and properties.

So I flipped through DC’s special 80-page Halloween anthology, Cursed Comics Cavalcade before adding it to my weekly stack. Ten eight-page stories by first-rate writers and exciting artists. No reprints, and nothing that felt like a Wal-Mart special. Swamp Thing looking extra ominous. Professor Pyg behaving appropriately dreadful. Ghosts, space zombies, demons, and possessed kids. Hell yes, Halloween, let’s go home and read this by candlelight.


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Four Color Forum

Heroes in Crisis

Uh oh. DC is getting grim again. Tom King and Clay Mann’s Heroes in Crisis #1, out this week, is a powerful opener to an intense murder mystery. The scene of the crime is a secluded rural safehouse, Sanctuary, that had been set up as a kind of therapeutic retreat for superheroes dealing with the kind of trauma that, well, comes with the job. The crime scene is a grisly litter of bodies, with several heroes — some of note, even — victims of a mass murder. And the two suspects appear to be, at least at the onset, Harley Quinn and Booster Gold.

Cut between the interactions of Booster and Harley, neither of whom seems particularly clear on the details of what had transpired on the farm, is the preliminary investigation by DC’s Holy Trinity. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman take in the scene with all the weight and seriousness that the event deserves, devoid of the typical technicolor melodrama that often serves as an appropriate separation between the superheroic fictional world and our own sobering reality. It’s the same kind of dark, arresting narrative that we saw from Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales in 2004’s Identity Crisis, and, as such, one can’t help but look back on how that singular event affected the DC Universe that we know — both in print and on the screen — today.


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Four Color Forum

Batman: Damned #1

I, probably like many casual comic book fans, was compelled to read Batman: Damned #1 for one reason: the Bat-dong. News surrounding Batman’s bare, ink-rendered member kept my group chat buzzing through the day of its release. Sadly, when I finally got around to reading the story, the X-rated panel was censored, and I had to rely on Google images to fill in the blanks. However, what’s really sad is how this dong-reveal, and the following redaction of said dong by DC comics, seems like a publishing gimmick to boost sales (albeit a more fun one than just restarting a series and slapping a “#1” on the cover). What is actually awesome about this book is: it’s good. It’s great to look at and fun to read, and adds up to more than one money shot panel.

One of the reasons Batman can continue to have imaginative and entertaining adventures is partly due to the timeless quality of the character, but also because of creative teams that tell interesting stories. Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo expand the niche Gotham mythos they started a decade ago with their Joker graphic novel. Notable for delving into the Joker’s psyche, like The Killing Joke before it, Azzarello and Bermejo’s Joker ends in a cliffhanger: the fate of Batman, Joker, and Joker’s chauffeur is left unresolved. In Damned, the authors pick up where they left off, only this time it’s Bruce’s psyche that they explore. Comparisons to Alan Moore and even Gaiman’s Sandman work are easy to make, and it’s not just the presence of John Constantine and the supernatural.

Azzarello mostly speaks through Constantine in cryptic, short passages. The words float in unusual parts of the panel and are dwarfed by the visuals. The character obviously knows more than I do, but because I don’t speak the language of prophets, all I can do is turn the page and hope for answers. There aren’t a lot of those (duh, it’s part one), but there is beautiful, intense art. Bermejo’s characters look realistic, but sometimes border the grotesque. The art not only provides the action in the book, but sets a tone and tension that the writing supports more than carries. It’s the kind of comic book you’d expect to come out during fall when the sun sets faster and the nights get cold.


Continue reading Batman: Damned #1 →

Four Color Forum

Batman #21

It’s been a year since DC Rebirth #1 and the reveal of The Comedian’s button and the revelation of The Watchman universe now bleeding into the DC universe. There hasn’t been much since that issue explaining how this happened. Batman #21 kicks off a four-part crossover with The Flash where hopefully questions are answered. This issue goes by quickly – so quick it only takes a minute to read….

1:00 – That’s Saturn Girl from the Legion of Superheroes watching a hockey game inside Arkham Asylum.

0:59 – Saturn Girl is from the future. But what future?

0:58 – Obviously she’s from the future where this hockey player dies in a fight.

0:57 – Saturn girl realizes what “timeline” she is in by watching this hockey game and freaks out!

0:56 – Saturn Girl is figuratively looking down and screaming “save us!” and the answer she receives is a gravelly, whispered voice saying, “No.”

0:55 – Batman has a lot of monitors.

Continue reading Batman #21 →

Four Color Forum

Ranking DC’s Rebirth: 10 – 6

10
Red Hood & The Outlaws

Scott Lobdell & Dexter Soy
I wish Zack Snyder movies were more like this, although this may be more of a Guy Ritchie style. Sure, a lot of the character stuff is sped through, but there’s an economy to it. No one needs to be particularly deep except Red Hood, but I wouldn’t mind a little bit more time with the villain. Seeing as he’s already got a long history with Gotham, I think the symmetry of origin and theme between Black Mask and Red Hood makes the adversarial relationship work well enough. The binary pacing of action, background, action, background, works well, particuarly with the art. It’s not the most detailed comic artistically, but the character design and action panels hit every mark. The prologue issue promises Red Hood, Artemis, and I think Bizarro, so if they’re building an anti-hero Justice League, I’m all for that kind of fun. – tyrannoflores

I like Jason Todd a lot; for a Batfamily member he at least has the balls to go in for the kill on occasion. He does have a bad attitude, but it feels like it works in his new persona as the Red Hood. Another getting-the-team-together story too, which I love. – IP

First collection: Red Hood & The Outlaws Volume 1: Dark Trinity (May)

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9
Batman

Tom King, David Finch, & Mikel Janin
I’m into this. I think King is going to address the popular perception that the DCU is comprised of overpowered superheroes and villains, and the street-level heroics of folks like Batman and Green Arrow often get spun into what practically amounts to a separate universe. I don’t know if I’m sold on the new crime-fighting partnership, but I trust this creative team, and I appreciate the drama with which they open this arc. Who really needs saving? Gotham? Or Batman? – MMDG

I actually like where this story is going. It doesn’t feel all that original, but it is doing something with the city of Gotham, personifying it in a new way. I’m in. – IP

First collection: Batman Volume 1: I Am Gotham (January)

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Continue reading Ranking DC’s Rebirth: 10 – 6 →

Four Color Forum

DC: Rebirth – Week 18

Wow. I didn’t think this book was coming. Not that I wasn’t expecting a Trinity #1, but a DC superhero book that connects on a human level was a welcome surprise. These characters in capes and armor are manifestations of our fantasies, symbolic of the struggle between good and evil. But when written with care, they become as stirring a curiosity as the real people we encounter. Yes, I do like seeing Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman fight monsters and villains, but what an awesome feeling it is to feel like these characters have real humanity behind them. If universes collapsed, and people that were thought dead turned up alive, I’d expect someone to have some sort of existential crisis, but instead there’s been a lot of business as usual. To see DC’s big three sit down at a dinner table, to watch Bruce speak one way in front of everyone, yet wax sentimental in a moment with Clark, or seeing Wonder Woman confide in Lois because her sisters in Themyscira are lost to her –those are the kind of nuances that take these superhero books out of childish distractions and into the realm of thoughtful entertainment.

Continue reading DC: Rebirth – Week 18 →

Four Color Forum

New Comics: The Accused

File_001This week’s The Accused fills in the gap between issues 3 and 4 of Civil War II. Specifically, we are in the gallery and behind closed doors for all the conspiratorial intrigue that takes place during Hawkeye’s month-long trial. There’s no drama in the final verdict: that was revealed two weeks ago (Clint walks!) but this one-shot puts a very different spin on the hero vs. hero conflict that is at the center of the Civil War event. By now, in Week 45 of All New All Different Marvel, readers know that Matt Murdock has returned to New York and is once again practicing law. This time, however, he’s sitting at the other table, as one of the prosecuting attorneys tasked with convincing a jury to convict Clint Barton of murder. And sentence him to death.

Continue reading New Comics: The Accused →

Four Color Forum

New Comics: Merry Men

In recent years there has been some scholarly discussion regarding the real-life historical origins of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, including insight that suggests that it may have been Robert Godwinson’s sexual preference that led both to the outlaw’s exile as well as the naming of his band of brothers. Robin Hood and his Gay Guyfriends, or The Queer Quiver of Nottinghamshire, may have also been thrown around. I’m glad Merry Men stuck. It’s a helluva good band name. And a great title for the new Oni Press book from Robert Rodi, Jackie Lewis, and Marissa Louise.

The book is far more than just an opportunity to see burly dudes making out in the forest, however. It’s an interesting slice of history, showcasing Medieval England during the decades immediately following the Norman conquest. And in addition to challenging the conceptions regarding Robin’s orientation, the book also challenges the folkloric tradition that romanticizes these Merry Men as being nothing more than humble thieves, robbing from the rich and all that. This first issue features some arrows through throats, dastardly assassinations, and the tainted soul of the enigmatic is-she-a-she-or-isn’t-she Scarlet. You know, great comic book stuff.

they make out after this

It also totally has burly dudes making out in the forest.

Ed Luce variant cover
Ed Luce variant cover

Additionally, each issue promises historical profiles, delving into “The Queer History of England,” with an inaugural biography on Alcuin of York. And expect to learn more about Richard the Lionheart, the English king who has become something of a gay icon; the storyline suggests that Robin’s troubles may have begun in the royal bedchamber. Also, as great as Jackie Lewis’s standard cover is, for my money nothing beats that Ed Luce (Wuvable Oaf) variant. Little John, “master of the quarterstaves” indeed. Continue reading New Comics: Merry Men →

Four Color Forum

New Comics: Paper Girls

So, clearly I’m not the only one who does this. I’ll be sitting on the couch, watching one of Netflix’s superhero shows, and I imagine a teenage me time-jumped from the past, staring in awe at the screen. “Is this Daredevil? That’s Elektra! This. Is. Awesome.” Yeah, and wait until you see what’s playing at the theater down the block, kid. “Wait a minute… those photos? Did the Giants win… the World Series? Three times?!” Yup. And remember how bad the Warriors were when you come from? “Hang on. Are you going to work in a t-shirt?” Ties are for weddings and funerals, buddy. No matter what Dad said. “Did I… did we take over the world?”

Brian K. Vaughan (Y the Last Man, Saga) and Cliff Chiang (Wonder Woman, amazing album homages) are back with the start of a new storyline in the so-good-of-course-you’re-already-reading-it Paper Girls #6. And this time, we catch up with the titular young ladies as they step from the world of 1988 into 2016, and Erin Tieng comes face to face with her forty-year-old self.

File_005

Young Erin and her friends react just as I’d imagine I would, if I was twelve years old again, staring at what couldn’t possibly be a home television set. BKV has always had a knack for characters that, while presented with totally unique and impossible situations, come to life with perfect credulity. And as much as we find ourselves sympathizing and caring about his cast members, whether a trio of newspaper delivery girls or a wannabe escape artist and his pet monkey, it’s those impossible situations that really make his stories stand out. And the mystery that started to unfold in the first volume of Paper Girls looks like it’s just getting started. Continue reading New Comics: Paper Girls →

Four Color Forum

Top 5 Superhero Resurrections

It’s on everyone’s mind this time of year. Back from the grave, back to save humanity. In a long-overdue return of Four Color Top 5’s, here’s a TPB reading list of my favorite Superhero Resurrection stories.

A tale as old as time. Superhero dies valiantly; a world mourns. And, after the requisite grieving process has run its course, superhero comes back, typically in dramatic fashion. Sometimes the death story is more interesting than the actual return (sorry, Flash). Sometimes neither the death nor the resurrection seems particularly profound (looking at you, Psylocke), and the time spent on the Other Side amounts to little more than an extended sabbatical. But in certain special cases, we get epic yarns like the following.

IMG_0602Jonathan Hickman loves The End of Times. His parting shot to Marvel was to culminate a three-year “Everything Dies” Avengers storyline with the Secret Wars event, opening the doors for the All New All Different universe. Before he destroyed realities and made Dr. Doom a god, however, he was wrapping up a memorable run on Marvel’s First Family, The Fantastic Four.

In the “Three” storyline, Johnny Storm, who has long had a reputation as a self-centered, narcissistic attention whore, sacrifices himself to fend off a Negative Zone invasion from Annihilus and his scary-ass Annihilation Wave. Spider-Man joins the team, and they operate as “FF” for several months until The Human Torch makes his dramatic return.

All of Hickman’s Fantastic Four stories are worth checking out. His science-forward plots always seemed more appropriate to this title than The Avengers but, hell, he did some good stuff there too. But what really makes this particular pair of trades stand out is the way Hickman brings Johnny back to life. And this isn’t a thought-he-was-dead-but-he-really wasn’t scenario (we’ll see some of those below). The Torch was dead. Really dead. And not to spoil anything, but his resurrection tale involves bugs, Galactus, and Annihilus on a leash. It’s legitimately fantastic and might just wash away the bad taste left by yet another failed movie attempt.

5. The Human Torch

Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman Vol. 4 (2013)

For weeks leading up to his demise, we knew someone on the FF was going to bite it. The arc was called “Three,” after all. And the Internet was wild with speculation as to which one it was going to be (my money had been on Reed). Props to Hickman for making one-in-four odds so engaging and surprising.

Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman Vol. 5 (2013)

Just because this is “Volume 5” doesn’t mean Johnny was dead for only a few months. There’s a gap in between the two books, but the volumes read fluidly regardless. It’s the best run on Fantastic Four in – no kidding – about thirty years.

Continue reading Top 5 Superhero Resurrections →